How do you measure your worthiness?
by JupiterComesThunderingIn09
Summary: The turtles are back from Dimension X. So how come Mikey wishes he stayed there? Takes place AFTER "Into Dimension X". You can watch it on Nick's website before it airs next Friday. SPOILERS AHEAD WARNING!


How do you measure your worthiness?

Ok, so if you want to see "Into Dimension X" before it airs next Friday, you can watch it on Nick's website. This is an awesome episode (Michelangelo finally shows his brother's how useful he can be). WARNING: if you have not seen it, this will contain spoilers!

The turtles are back from their adventure in Dimension X. Everyone is relieved to be back on earth. So why does Mikey want to go back to Dimension X rather than stay with his bros? Please read and review.

"Booyakasha!" Michelangelo cried as he and all three of his brothers high three'd on the rooftops in New York. The brothers had just returned from their recent adventure to Dimension X. What was even more rewarding was that they were finally able to bring back their long lost friend, Leatherhead. The mutant alligator still hung from the rooftops as the brothers celebrated and vowed to take on whatever this coming Krang invasion entailed.

This experience was a big eye opener for the three older brothers. Never before have they seen their youngest brother so confident, smart, and able to take on leadership like they have from time to time. The way he handled the rock monster and Traag, communicating with them and being able to single handedly take them down was beyond impressive. Raph and Don even sensed a little jealousy from Leo and they really couldn't blame him. Their younger brother's confidence was enough to rival their fearless leader. They were also amazed with how well Mikey and Leatherhead worked together. When the two teamed up, they were an unstoppable force. The three turtles owed them their lives and gratitude for being able to bring them back from that horrible dimension.

"My friends, can you help me up" Leatherhead gently asked as the turtles quickly realized their crocodile friend was still hanging on the rooftops for every New Yorker to see.

"Sorry Leatherhead," Mikey said as he quickly ran over to try and pull his friend to safety. The weight of the croc was too much for the little turtle. When the three noticed their brother struggling, they each grabbed one of the croc's hands and together pulled him to safety.

"Thank you," he said in a grateful reply.

"No problem, LH!" Mikey put his arm around his friend's shoulder. "We are so glad to have you back"

"Hey guys, sorry to break up this reunion, but it's still daylight out and we need to be heading back underground" Leo said.

"Let's go home!" Mikey smiled at his croc friend. Leatherhead offered a smile in return as the five of them headed down below.

"Master Splinter, you should have seen it," Raphael said as the brothers and Leatherhead were safely back in the lair, telling Splinter about their latest adventure over a slice of pizza. "We thought the Rocktopus was going to crush all of us but Mikey swooped in like Indiana Jones and was able to tell it to go away using its language. I never thought I would say this, but Mikey was actually awesome for once".

"He was even able to operate the trans-dimensional portal! I couldn't even get it to function properly. It was like he knew exactly how to operate kraang technology. I don't even know how to operate some of their technology!" Donatello chimed in as he continued to nibble on his slice of pepperoni and jelly bean pizza. Master Splinter sat in silence, taking in what his sons have told him about Michelangelo's adventure. A smile crept across his face and a hint of pride could be seen in his eyes. Mikey and Leatherhead were quiet throughout this whole tail. Leatherhead would wince every time the turtle brothers talked about their experience in that horrible dimension. The crocodile spent centuries in that place being tortured for information and he didn't want to relive it. Michelangelo saw the look of sadness in his friend's eyes and placed a comforting hand on the croc's shoulder, giving reassurance that everything was okay now.

"And the way he gave out commands and dove in fearlessly to take down a kraang army was, I don't know, very un-Mikey like" Leonardo continued. "It only took what, fifteen years little brother? I think you've finally grown up".

"Yeah but now that we are back on earth, I think the old Mikey is the only Mikey we will be seeing. It was like dimension x was an alternate universe or something. He will be back to screwing up and playing pranks here soon" Raphael said as he finished nibbling on his crust of pizza. A splat could be heard hitting the ground, breaking the silence that Raph's comment brought about.

The three turtles and their master turned to the orange clad turtle who was now standing. His pizza laid in a pile of goop on the floor. His fists were clenched up in a ball and the young turtle seemed angry all of a sudden. "Fifteen years to finally grow up, huh? What if I do decide to go back to my prankster ways? Will you go back to treating me like I'm stupid…."

"Mikey, we didn't mean it like…" Donatello tried to explain but the young turtle cut him off.

"You have no idea how long I was there. The things that I saw were just un-believable. I had to fight for my life every day holding onto that little piece of hope that I would be back on earth again. Do you know how many nights I spent thinking that you would never come for me? You made me feel worthless before I left. I just wanted to save my friend and you were going to deny me the right to help him all because I made a mistake. That's why I jumped into the portal, I didn't want to wait for you guys to come up with a plan and then leave me hanging here. Leatherhead is more of a friend, NO brother to me than any of the three of you ever will be. He believes in me and treats me as his equal".

"Michelangelo, you need to apologize to your brother's at once," Splinter hollered back at him.

"And Master Splinter, you of all people let them treat me like this because you do it too. You're just as guilty. When I was in that dimension, I never felt so alive, worthy, and strong! Something I have never felt here. You know what, I wish you never came for me. I should have stayed there and let the portal close down. Yeah that dimension was totally whack, but at least I felt I was finally good at something when I was there". The family just sat and stared at their youngest brother in shock. Leatherhead could feel his blood boiling. He had no idea that the turtles treated his friend like they did. He knew his friend had a carefree spirit but he was always loyal and fought for what was right. He owed that small turtle his life. He had the ability to see good where others do not. He would have been dead by now if it wasn't for Michelangelo's kindness and undeniable gift.

Michelangelo's words stung like venom and the brothers and their master could do nothing but put their heads down in shame. Donatello stood up and started walking towards his brother but Leatherhead intervened, standing protectively in front of the younger turtle. "Easy Leatherhead, I just want to talk to my brother" he pleaded.

The crocodile raised his hand up towards the purple clad's face causing him to back down. "You don't treat a brother the way you have treated him. He is the most loyal person you would ever meet, you should never make him feel useless". The croc inched closer to Donatello and the turtle backed up further, running into his other two brothers.

"Don't grab me by the face," Donatello pleaded.

"It's okay LH, I don't expect them to understand me. They will never get it" The orange clad turtle then turned and headed towards his room.

"Master Splinter, are you going to let him talk to you like that?" Leonardo said.

"My students, sometimes one who smiles the brightest and laughs the loudest hides the most pain." Master Splinter said before retreating to the dojo.

A growl escaped Leatherhead, quickly reminding the remaining three turtles that they still had an angry croc to deal with. Before anyone could say or do anything, the croc quickly grabbed the closest thing to him. Unfortunately, it was Donatello's face.

"Get him off, get him off," Donnie yelled as the croc started flinging him around the lair.

"Leatherhead, look we want to make things right with Mikey. He's our brother and we do care about him. Please, just put the turtle genius down," Leonardo pleaded with the overgrown croc.

Leatherhead slowly lowered his hand and released Donatello, causing him to fall on his knees. The turtle quickly got up and scurried behind his red clad brother for protection.

"Make things right with him or I will do more than grab you by your face next time," the angry crocodile stated as he turned and left the lair.

"Should we go and talk to him?" Raphael asked.

"Give him time to cool off. I think approaching him now will only add fuel to the fire," Leo said.

Three hours later:

"This is nuts!" Raphael slammed his fist across the dinner table. "He disrespected Master Splinter and us and then locks himself in his room".

"Easy Raph, we need to be patient. Afterall, we have been treating him terrible lately" Leonardo stated as he placed his empty cup in the sink.

"Yeah, I feel like such a horrible brother. I never thought we were hurting him. We were so caught up in everything that we forgot that everyone is valuable to our team" Donnie added.

"yeah well the little shit can't hide in there all day. I am going to go in there and tell him to come out and face us. He's a coward, saying all that crap and then hiding out for three hours!" Raphael stood up and started towards Mikey's room.

"Wait…Raph…" Leo called after him. Donnie followed them.

"Mikey get out here right now and face us!" Raph was beating on Mikey's door violently. "Face us you coward".

"Raph this is not helping, back down" Leo tried to reason with his hotheaded brother. Before he could say anymore, the red clad brother knocked down the door. "Or you could just charge in there" he said in defeat.

"Mikey?" Donatello asked as he went in the bedroom. Pizza boxes that originally cluttered the floor were gone. Comic books were placed neatly in the shelves that hung over his bed. The bed was made neatly but no sign of the orange banded brother. "He's gone, guys" Donnie said. Raph and Leo charged in, hoping that Donnie was wrong.

"Where did he go?" Raph said, every bit of anger had left him, a look of worry replacing him.

"I don't know, but I don't like this one bit. Who knows when the kraang plan on invading the city. If he's out there, there's no telling what kind of trouble he could get into," Leo said.

"I got him!" Donnie yelled as he checked the tracker on the tphone. "He's on fifth and main, but this is strange"

"What is it, Donnie?" Raph asked.

"He's not moving, he's at a standstill!" Donnie replied.

"He could be in trouble, let's move!" Leonardo exclaimed as they hurried out of the lair.

Michelangelo sat on the cold lonely rooftop, staring down at the city. The memory of the days events were flooding his mind. He really couldn't blame his brother's for how they were acting. Heck, he messed up a lot of things. But the reality of it was he secretly wished he wasn't so worthless in his brother's eyes. When he was in dimension x, something happened to him. He couldn't even explain it. For once, he became the warrior that even he thought didn't exist inside of him. If only he could be that way all the time. Maybe his brother's would finally take him as a serious member of the team.

He then thought about his battle with pizza face. His brother's shook it off as a bad dream but something kept telling Mikey that it was all real. He was able to save his brother's and April from the giant mutant pizza who was bent on taking over the world. Did he ever get a thank you? No. He was just told it was a dream and to go back to sleep. They will never really know or appreciate what he could do. His capabilities even surprised himself. He vowed right then there that he would never go back to his goofball antics.

"Mikey," a voice called out his name, snapping him out of his trance. "Are you okay?" a worried and unsure voice asked him. It was Donatello. Mikey turned around only to be faced with all three of his brothers.

"What do you want? To make more insults against my intelligence?" Mikey coldy responded. The turtle stood up and started to head towards the rooftop next them when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"We just want to talk bro, there is only room enough for one hothead on this team" Raph replied. Mikey shook him off and backed away from him.

"Yeah, there is only room for a hothead, a boy genius, and a leader. No room for a screw up" Mikey said before taking off.

"Mikey come back, we just want to talk". Leo called after him. The other three turtles followed him, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. They just couldn't seem to catch up to their brother.

"Leave me alone, I don't need you!" Mikey called back. He was getting a nice distance away from them, as he was the fastest of the four. When he went to jump on the next rooftop he failed to see the spot of oil that was on his landing area. Instead of nailing the landing, his right foot went out from underneath him, causing him to fall and land on his shell.

He couldn't think or even find the energy to get up. He felt himself being lifted up and coming face to face with Raphael.

"This ends here," he said angrily. Mikey had no choice but to admit defeat. He had to face his brothers. "You need to talk to us bro, we can't do anything to help you unless you tell us" Raph said in a softer tone. Pain was evident in his voice.

"Yeah Mikey, look we're really sorry for how we were treating you," Donatello said. "Are you okay? You took a nasty fall there," he asked as he let Mikey lean on his shoulder and gently sat him down on the roof. Donnie quickly examined his swollen ankle. "Yep its definitely twisted. You won't be able to put any weight on it for at least a week".

"So, Mikey, you know we don't think you are worthless you know? We were just frustrated because sometimes you.." Leo started to say.

"Mess things up, yeah I get that," Mikey said, his gaze staying towards the ground.

"But, Mikey, listen, you were great back in Dimension X. You kicked some serious shell and heck, you even had me worried for the Kraang and those monsters. You were simply amazing. You are always amazing, bro and we failed to see that", Raph said grabbing a seat next to his brother. He put a finger under his brother chin, making his brother look at him in the eye. "We never thank you or show you how much you really mean to us bro"

"But I know you all want me to grow up. I will never measure up to Don's intelligence, Leo's wisdom and leadership, and your strength. I'm…" Mikey started to say

"The best little brother in the entire world!" Don said, settling down on Mikey's other side. "You can't possibly think that we could get along without you can you? And you should have seen Leo, ready to charge into that portal immediately after you took off. We just want to protect you and keep you safe and sometimes your curiosity gets the best of you bro".

"What we're trying to say is, Mikey, you keep up together. You keep us from fighting with one another, you have the ability to see the light in the darkest of situations, and…." Leo was interrupted

"You have the biggest heart in the entire world!" Raph finished for him. This caused a smile to escape across Mikey's lips. "Wait, is that a smile? Bro's I think we've done it"

"Now that I am back on earth, you are only going to go back to letting me be the fourth wheel here. I just feel like I don't contribute in any way," Mikey said with a sad sigh.

"Mikey, we love you just the way you are. Don't ever change!" Donnie said putting his arm around him.

"Really?" he asked surprised.

"Yes, we love you bro, so much! The reason we are so strict with you is because we don't want you to get hurt. And, we try to protect you from some of the terrible things in this world. You're so innocent, Mikey. Innocent and carefree, never change that about you" Raph said laying his head on Mikey's.

"And next time you go into a portal always know that we will be right behind you. Never ever question that!" Leo finished.

"I'm sorry bros. I love you too, to the moon and back. And I will try to be a little more serious," Mikey said wrapping his arm around both Donnie and Raph's waist.

"Just don't go all Rambo on us again. That look doesn't suit you," Donnie replied. The others laughed.

"We better get home turtles, the sun will be coming up soon", Leo stated.

"You think Master Splinter will be upset with me? You know, for talking back to him?" Mikey asked as Raph lifted him to his feet and then motioned for his brother to jump on his back.

"Nah, you know Master Splinter, if he can forgive Karai, you can be sure he will forgive an angry upset little turtle. He knows you didn't mean it," Donnie said.

"Okay, sounds good…" Mikey said sleepily. He wrapped his arms around Raph's neck and quickly fell asleep as he let him carry him home.

"He never should have to measure how much his is worth to us" Leo said.

"Yeah, because in reality, he is worth more to us as our loveable goofball than a butt kicking, monster speaking, turtle. I think we've realized that now. He really is something special" Donnie replied.

"Don't ever change, little brother," Raph said quietly. "You're the best brother ever and I love ya". The brothers quietly made their way home.

Please read and review. Sorry if you haven't seen the episode yet. I just loved it and hope there are more moments where Mikey shows how awesome he really is! (Not that he is my fave or anything). Thanks for reading!


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